Forty-Seven Hundred Years Advanced Spiritually
The idea that everyday images contain psychic energy that is transferable and evolves us as beings is of great interest to visual artist and sculptor Willie Stewart. Forty-Seven Hundred Years Advanced Spiritually investigates the phenomena manifest within images through the lenses of parapsychology and the paranormal, such as telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and near-death experiences. This collection of family snapshots, studio photography, found images, and documentation is connected to Stewart’s subcultural memories of the past. He is fascinated by how combinations of these images can produce a veneer that constructs a sincere identity outside of irony. The overall sequence is influenced by Alex Collier’s accounts of evolution, the visual vernacular of American culture, individualism, and Stewart’s own teenage experiences with music and film.